Layers

layersvisibilitygroupstabseditor

Layers are visibility containers within a scene. Elements assigned to a layer show or hide together when the layer is toggled. Layers are powerful for building interactive experiences like tabbed interfaces, progressive disclosure, feedback panels, and overlay content.

How Layers Differ from Scenes

  • Scenes — one active at a time, full layout switches with their own backgrounds
  • Layers — multiple can be visible simultaneously, overlay content within a scene

Think of layers as transparent overlays stacked on top of the scene. You can show or hide each one independently.

Creating Layers

In the Structure panel, open the Layers tab:

  1. Click Add Layer
  2. Give it a name (e.g., "Help Panel", "Quiz Feedback", "Tab 1 Content")
  3. Set whether it is visible by default when the scene loads

Assigning Elements to Layers

Select an element and choose its layer in the properties panel. Elements can be:

  • Unassigned (base layer) — always visible when the scene is active
  • Assigned to a layer — visibility controlled by the layer's state

Showing and Hiding Layers

Layers are toggled through actions. Attach a "show layer" or "hide layer" action to any interactive element:

  • A "Help" button that shows the help layer
  • A "Close" button within the layer that hides it
  • A "Next" button that hides the current step and shows the next

You can also configure layers to be visible by default — they appear when the scene loads and can be hidden by actions.

Reset on Revisit

By default, layer visibility persists when participants switch away from a scene and come back. Enable Reset on revisit to have the layer revert to its default visibility each time the scene is entered. This is useful for tutorial overlays or temporary feedback panels.

Layer Groups

Layers can be organised into groups for better management:

  • Normal groups — purely organisational, for tidying up your layer list
  • Radio groups — only one layer in the group can be visible at a time

Radio Mode (Tab Interfaces)

Radio groups are the key to building tab-style interfaces. When a participant shows one layer in a radio group, all other layers in that group are automatically hidden. This is perfect for:

  • Tabbed content panels
  • Step-by-step wizards
  • Accordion-style sections
  • Any mutually exclusive content

Global Layers

Layers can be scene-specific (defined within a scene) or global (apply to elements that are visible across all scenes). Global layers are managed separately and affect global elements only.

Visibility Chain

An element's visibility follows this chain:

  1. Scene active — is the element's scene currently showing?
  2. Layer visible — is the element's layer toggled on?
  3. Conditions met — do any visibility conditions (visibleWhen/hiddenWhen) evaluate to true?

All three must pass for the element to be visible.

Tips

  • Use layers for anything that should appear or disappear without changing the whole scene
  • Radio groups are brilliant for tab interfaces — create one layer per tab and group them in radio mode
  • Name layers clearly (e.g., "Step 1", "Step 2", "Feedback Correct", "Feedback Incorrect")
  • Keep the number of layers manageable — too many can be hard to track